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Sunday, February 16, 2014

Wine Writers' Circle of Canada Annual Dinner, Jan 20, 2014

The Date and Time: Monday, January 20, 2014 6:15PM to midnight

The Event: the annual dinner of the Wine Writers' Circle of Canada, attended by members and their partners. It was terrifically well-organized by member Sheila Swerling-Puritt, an event planner/opinion maker who is also a WWCC member.

The Venue: Le Paradis

The Target Audience: ourselves – private party, for which we actually pay money.

The Availability/Catalogue: only one wine was available to all – a generous donation of six well-received Bottega sparklers (three proseccos and three roses) for the reception, accompanied by mushrooms on gaufettes and other canapes.

The Quote/Background: we get together every year in January for a dinner at some great restaurant in Toronto (previously, Edo, Tutti Matti, Mistura, Mideastro Bistro, Senses, Hemispheres, Royal York, etc.). In addition to paying for the dinner, each person is responsible for bringing a bottle of "good to great" wine, which is then shared by all.

The Wines:

There were a lot of good/great wines with the dinner, too many (over two dozen) to sample and to list – but I was struck by the Chateau Pichon Baron 1998, Trius Grand Reds of 2007 and 1999, the Urla Tempus 2010 from Turkey, the Graham's 30 Year Port, the 1974 Vintage Port, the Yatta white wine from Kenya in a tetrapak, the Cote Rotie 1998, the Kangaroo Springs Shiraz, Pommard, the Brunello, and the copious quantities of different Ontario icewines.

The Food: there was a set menu of French bistro food with lots of choices and courses (snails, duck, chicken, fish, salads, etc.). Everybody got a scrumptious grilled veal marrow bone – it certainly brought out the dogs.

The Downside: it was really cold outside.

The Upside: we were in a room all by ourselves, and comfortably fed by David Currie who also provided a great wait staff.

The Contact Person: spuritt@sympatico.ca

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): A plus, of course.